Readers' Tips Summarized

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Medieval Society: Western Europe Second Edition!

A Brief Word From Johnn

The Wire is a Good Show - Keep Your Game Local

A friend at work lent me his "The Wire" DVDs seasons 1-4,
and it's a great show with good characters and writing. I'd
rate it for Mature viewers only, and it's a fictional
"Baltimore drug scene, seen through the eyes of drug
dealers, and law enforcement."

One thing in particular caught my attention: the local
nature of the story. The writers successfully kept me glued
to each episode, but the story was told within just a small
number of locations, and with simple plots. The brilliance
was in the great characters and their interactions.

GMs take note. You don't need to crawl the whole world (and
have to do all the planning that goes with it) or manage three
simultaneous plot arcs, to make your games and stories fun.
Focus on NPCs and the PCs. Let them drive encounter set-ups.
Go deep into what makes them tick and create barriers that
cause characters to take actions.

As a creative exercise, while you need to kill some time one
day, imagine an adventure that takes place in just five
locations. The PCs bounce around between the locations until
they achieve their goal. How would you keep the adventure
interesting? How could you use NPCs to keep the game
interesting? What kind of conflicts and encounters would be
fun to play?

Perhaps location #1 is the PCs' home base, and #5 is the
villain's headquarters. In between is contested ground,
though the villain's minions and the PCs are able to travel
to each other's home turf.

What could you GM in such a tight environment?

Temple of Elemental Evil Campaign on Hiatus

One thing huge time crunches and family emergencies do for
you is challenge your priorities. Recently, I've had to
spend a few weeks away from the gaming table, and upon my
return I realized I was burnt out on GMing my ToEE campaign.

One sign I'm burning out on a campaign is less frequent play
dates. When I'm passionate about a campaign, I'm successful
in battling through the reasons why a game session might be
cancelled, and we end up playing more often. When I'm
struggling to keep interest in a campaign, even small
obstacles to getting game days together will win.

With ToEE, we've gamed very little so far in 2008. So, I bit
the bullet last week and chatted with my players about it.
We've decided to put the campaign on hold, which is secret
code for "probably not going to play it again," but who
knows what the future might bring.

I'm a free GM again and excited to be considering a new
campaign! Though it was tough to finally reach the decision
to cancel the game, I'm eager to put game sessions together
again. I'll let you know what we decide to play next.

Hero Lab 2.0 Now Available

Character Creation Software Has Finally Leveled Up

Hero Lab allows players to concentrate on the fun parts of
character creation while it takes care of the recordkeeping
and validation tasks. Review every option before making
selections, then see changes in real-time as you adjust
character details - Hero Lab makes it all easy. Files are
available for d20, World of Darkness, and soon Mutants &
Masterminds!

Campaign Settings: Fantasy Greek and Roman

By Hannah L.

If there's one thing nearly every gamer has in common, it's
that we've all fought against evil in one medieval-esque
world or another. Be it the Forgotten Realms or some
homebrew setting, the average gamer spends about as much
time in medieval Europe as the average historian.

The average historian probably isn't battling orcs or
trolls, though, which raises the question of just where
those dark creatures were at other times in history? With a
little bit of imagination and research, it's not too hard to
port the classic orcs vs. elves epic into a different kind
of classical setting entirely: ancient Greece and Rome.

The key to making other historical settings just as
exciting as medieval Europe is to remember that medieval
Europe wasn't all that exciting. It was mostly drudgery and
unjust taxation and unmitigated filth. And yet, we remember
it as a shining age of chivalry, when roving knights on
horseback fought for justice and the hand of yon fair
maiden.

If we can spice up the dark ages with a little extra magic
and heroism, why not classical times? Ancient ages had their
own sweeping conflicts and great heroes, and who's to say
there weren't some shouted incantations amidst the clash of
bronze?

1. The Age of Heroes

This is the mythological age wherein the Trojan War took
place, when gods still walked the earth and their children
battled monsters. Cyclopes offered bad hospitality, sphinxes
blocked travelers with riddles, and the gates of the
underworld were open to those who know where to look.

If you're looking for a high-magic campaign with endless
colorful baddies, you can't do much better than the age of
heroes. Prophets and oracles in the hills, sirens and
sorceresses on the seas, and demi-gods duking it out over
hordes of gold and bronze.

If that isn't enough for your players, don't forget about
the titans locked-up down in Tartarus, and all the havoc
they could wreak if one or all of them got loose. Not to
mention the constant disagreements of the gods themselves,
endlessly playing tricks on one another, and involving
hapless mortals in their deadly games.

If you want to stick with the "authentic" Age of Heroes,
there's always the great forces of Achaean armies and their
Trojan counterparts. Helen's face launched a thousand ships,
and the fates of all but a handful of those ships are lost
to history.

There's plenty of room amidst the vast, bronze-clad armies
for a few forgotten heroes to do their work. And even less
is known of the time after the war, when Odysseus was
striving to find his beloved home, and Aeneas was striving
to build a new one. Not all of the returning soldiers ended
up back where they started, and there were monsters loose in
the land still.

With all the heroes busy making their way back from war, who
was defending the homes they left behind? Bandits were ever
a problem, as were scheming traitors who hastened to prepare
less-than-welcoming homecomings for their returning kindred.

2. The Persian Wars

If the Persian Wars don't sound like anything you've heard
of, think again - the movie 300 is roughly based on one of
the battles. While it ignores the entire sea battle, as well
as the other Greek forces present, the movie does get quite
a few things right - like just how overwhelmed the tiny
Greek city-states were against the massive Persian army.

A situation like that is perfect for a band of plucky heroes
to come in and aid the underdog. And if barbaric, pants-
wearing, garlic-smelling foreigners aren't a deadly enough
evil, what about their foreign magics?

Greece had plenty of home-grown superstition, and the
invasion of enemies from other lands meant their gods were
invading, too, fighting for dominion of the heavens. Strange
gods bring strange magic, and evil, warped creatures the
likes of which only true heroes can conquer.

3. The Peloponnesian War

Once the Greeks fended off the Persians, a golden age
flourished. Poets, artists, philosophers and sculptors all
flocked to Athens during the Age of Pericles. But scarcely
two decades into this boom of culture, the troubles began
again, with Sparta's military presence growing too
threatening for Athens to overlook. Bloody civil war broke
out, enveloping all of Greece.

Sparta dominated on land, while Athens controlled the seas.
Smaller city-states were forced to ally with one or the
other of the two superpowers, with few neutral areas free of
conflict.

With their love of the military and lack of tolerance for
anything else, it wouldn't be too much of a stretch to
picture the Spartans as a civilization of orcs. Likewise,
the cultured, highbrow Athenians who frowned on such narrow-
minded barbarism are a few pointed ears away from being
typical elves.

Considering the Athenians' success on the seas, why wouldn't
they be allied with merfolk? The Spartans, of course, were
more the sort to consort with ogres and the like. Given that
the Greek name for Sparta is Lacedaemon, what does that
suggest about other possible allies?

Be it filled with medieval monsters or classical ones, a
campaign based around the Peloponnesian war would never be
short of enemies.

4. The Punic Wars

Cato the Elder, Hannibal, and elephants. What more needs be
said? Carthage and Rome had been enemies since way back in
mythological history, when Trojan hero Aeneas sailed off
into the night, leaving scorned Carthaginian queen Dido to
kill herself out of shame.

The Punic Wars started with some Campanian mercenaries, and
ended with Carthage in ruins. In between, there were naval
battles, land battles, sieges, ransoms, raids, fighting that
raged across Italy, Spain and Africa, and of course,
elephants.

Rome won all three of the Punic Wars, but the Carthaginians
kept on fighting. With hundreds of thousands slaughtered in
spectacular battles, it's not hard to imagine fireballs and
frost giants in amongst the carnage. If getting a vast army
across icy mountain peaks doesn't require magic, then it
certainly requires the kind of superhuman determination of
which heroes are made.

5. The Last Days of the Roman Republic

After the defeat of Carthage, Rome turned on itself. First
Marius, then Sulla, seized power as dictators, ruling over
Rome. Decapitated heads were hung on pikes around the city,
and ordinary citizens feared for their lives. After this
bloody period, Rome was anxious for calm, but that calm was
to be short-lived.

Caesar, not yet famous, was captured by pirates on his way
to study rhetoric. He joked with his captors that when he
was ransomed, he would kill them all. Caesar, as it turns
out, does not joke. Pirates: bad for ancient Roman trade,
great for modern gamers.

Pompey, who would later also kill pirates, first made his
name with a series of wars in the east. He conquered lands,
set up kings, drew up treaties, and in general was a great
military success for quite some time. This history of
victory soon became a problem for his enemies in the senate,
who disagreed with his populist ideals.

Meanwhile, Caesar was off in Gaul (modern France),
vanquishing tribes of barbarians. Gallic druids vanished
into the forest after lightning raids, or called upon the
power of the beasts to aid them in holding off the invaders.
Further off in Britain and modern Ireland, Celtic warlords
fought with such ferocity that even Caesar's hardened armies
were driven back.

Back in Rome, Cato the Younger railed against corruption,
Cicero made moving speeches, Clodius led street gangs on
violent rampages, and Cataline plotted to overthrow the
senate. All of these ambitious guys whose names started with
C created a turbulent political atmosphere ripe for
revolution.

Danger was everywhere, with dark omens in the skies above
that mirrored the murders and deception in the city below.
Any groups interested in intrigue would be hard-pressed to
find a better era than this one in which to play out their
schemes.

6. The Civil Wars

Caesar and Pompey set up a triumvirate with the rich man of
mystery, Crassus, and together they ruled - for a time. But
after Crassus was killed in a doomed invasion of Parthia,
the truce was over.

When the civil war came, it was fought in Spain, France and
Africa, not just Italy. Novel settings bring novel dangers,
and the poet Lucan has much to say about the witches that
ran rampant in Thessaly, feeding off the battle dead.

The dark powers of the witches could call up the spirits of
the slain out of Orcus, reanimating fallen soldiers with a
life that could not be extinguished by blades alone. Such
spirits could prophesize as well as fight. Lucan says that
even the gods on Olympus trembled in fear at the witches'
call, hastening to answer their dreadful summons.

Pompey's son is said to have sought the witches' help before
a key battle against the forces of Caesar. That battle,
Pharsalus, was one of the last in a bloody campaign in which
vast armies chased each other across the Mediterranean.
Pompey led one force; Caesar, the other; and all of Rome
sided with one of the two.

If Pompey truly had witches at his beck and call, who knows
what magic enabled Caesar to best him? His eventual heir
certainly claimed to have the gods on his side; Octavian,
Caesar's adopted son, gave the Egyptian goddess Isis credit
for his victory over Anthony at Actium.

Cleopatra's betrayal likely had more to do with it, but
between Egyptian treachery and Egyptian magic, Octavian
accomplished what his great-uncle Caesar could not, becoming
the Emperor Augustus, and ending the Roman Republic forever.

The Civil Wars would be a great setting for a horror game,
with brother turned against brother and black magic stalking
the shadows. Zombies are fun for everyone, and while there's
no recorded account of zombies fighting in any of the major
battles, who's to say they didn't?

* * *

It doesn't take a classical historian to create a dazzling,
accurate-enough ancient Greek or Roman campaign, just as it
doesn't take a medieval historian to write a D&D adventure.
Between the monsters of the mythological age and the
manipulative schemers of the civil wars, there should be
something for everyone.

If the Greco-Roman pantheon isn't exciting enough, there's
always the Egyptian one. Many Egyptian gods migrated to
Italy between the fall of Athens and the rise of Rome, and
if there's any pantheon sure to cause chaos, it's that one.

The Greeks and Romans might not have had all the weaponry
familiar from medieval campaigns, but most of the classical
armory should seem familiar. And if your ranger just has to
have that crossbow, so what? It's hardly surprising the gods
would gift their champions with strange and deadly weapons.

The classical world provides endless possibilities for great
campaigns. All you need for a convincing campaign is to know
just a slight fraction more about the time period than your
players do. And, of course, creativity. May I suggest
calling on the Muses? Bona fortuna!

D&D 4th Edition is Here

My beefs with the poor product quality of Keep on the
Shadowfell, the first module for Dungeons & Dragons 4th
Edition, do not carry through to the core rule books, which
I picked up last week. Thankfully, the books are high
quality hardcovers that should stand up to regular use at
home and the game table.

I see Amazon has all three books in a slip case for dirt
cheap - nearly half the list price. If you haven't bought
your books yet, check them out:

Readers' Tips Of The Week:

1. Body Language Tips

From: BFN Richard

Hi Johnn,

This is just a brief word on body language. I know it sounds
like a seventies advertising phrase, but I find a DM can
create great effects through subtle use of basic body
language techniques, especially when he starts to get
excited.

For example, if an NPC is supposed to be shifting control
from the PCs to himself in a relaxed environment (e.g. pub
negotiations), leaning back slightly or putting one foot
onto his knee conveys this easily. Avoiding eye contact, or
hiding his hands or part of his mouth, is a great way to
simulate lying or nerves. A finger at the side of the face
can be skepticism.

The best part is playing other races. Who says they have the
same body language as us? This is a great way to bring out
the almost natural enmity between strange creatures.

For example, a creature tells the truth but uses the body
language for lying. The PCs might assume he is lying when he
acts this way, and it costs them. If they go back for
revenge the damage to their reputation could be enormous.
After all, the creature didn't lie.

2. More Body Language Tips

From: Riina Stewart

Mimic People's Body LanguageCopy the body language of the other person to seem more
interested, socially competent, or powerful. This one can
have different effects depending on when you use it, but it
always creates a feeling that the person is interested and
listening.

You might think it will look obvious, but it doesn't (as
long as you don't go too far). People do it all the time in
ordinary conversation to signify they are interested in what
someone is saying, or that they like them.

This has the effect of putting people off-guard when used at
odd moments. The best effect I ever put it to was in playing
an extremely powerful and socially competent NPC
interrogating a shifty, powerful, and cheeky PC. This made
the PC feel totally out of control of the situation (for a
change), because there was no way the NPC could like them,
but yet they behaved as if they did.

Watch Where You Sit

If you are sitting higher than the players it will create an
impression of power. If you sit lower, it will make you seem
subservient. This is not easy, though, if you game at a
table (I game in the lounge room, there's nothing to obscure
body language then).

Learn About Body Language

Body language is a subtle and powerful thing. It has been
said it accounts for most communication between people, but
yet people often don't notice it consciously. Here are a few
tips gleaned from here and there:

Fidgeting makes you look nervous

Sitting with your legs apart, leaning back (especially if
male) comes across as confident or aggressive

Gesturing with your hands palm down makes you look
authoritarian

Slumping down in your chair makes you seem timid,
especially if you wrap your arms about yourself and cross
your legs

Avoid Overdoing It

The more you use a mannerism for a particular NPC the more
it becomes caricature. You'll realise you've gone too far
when the players start making up silly jokes as to why the
NPC is always doing it.

In a game I was in there was a powerful, vampiric mage who
rarely spoke and often sat with his forehead resting on
steepled fingers. The GM did this once to often, and much to
his annoyance, we started making up jokes about how it was
actually a faery curse that made him do it, or that his
fingers were actually attached to his forehead (accompanied
with mimes of him trying to pull them off). Initially, the
mannerism had made him seem mysterious and thoughtful, but
it just became a way for us to laugh at one of the scariest
NPCs in the game. The scarier the NPC the more the players
will want to joke about them.

3. Free Virtual Mixer Board For Sound Effects

It's a free virtual mixer board helpful for playing multiple
audio samples at the same time. I use it for playing sound
effects during roleplay sessions, while using Winamp for
music. Please do check it out.

4. Maintaining Party Cohesion

From: Joseph

In regard to keeping the party together, I'd like to throw
in my two cents. I am currently running a Star Wars Saga
game that is set outside of the movies. It's as if the Sith
Wars never happened, and the Jedi are so concerned with
wiping out the Sith that they are no longer the bastion of
good they used to be.

The party consists of a disinterested smuggler, a mercenary
bounty hunter droid who revels in killing, a Sith apprentice
whose aspiration is to control a star system, and a Jedi who
is just like in the movies, only incredibly naive.

As you've probably guessed, I'm allowing dark-side in this
game. My dark-siders are experienced players, and I only had
to lay down one rule:

Ask not, "What would my character do," rather, "What can my
character do that won't destroy his personality or the
game?"

I've found everyone does not need to be working toward the
same goal - only moving in the same direction. The party is
investigating a super-evil devil (I've mixed a little
Cthulhu in here). One PC wants to gain enough support to
"ride the wave" of the devil's rise to power. One wants to
gain enough information to break up the devil's organization
from the inside. One wants to help his own organization
claim the victory they seek over their rivals and the
devils. And one just follows the trail of money: killing
whomever is worth the most.

There will be a point when each party member has to choose
sides, and they may not choose to fight together, but the
goal here is to keep them all in the story (and
approximately the same location) until then. What happens at
the climax could rend them asunder (in which case it'll have
been one heck of a ride and we'll start a new campaign) or
bring them even closer together.

The point I'm trying to make: if you're not happy with your
group's cohesion, is it possible to change your definition
of "cohesion?"